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Electronics news digest

25 March 2020 News

Overseas

Business

• ams reported record revenues and results for full year 2019, with revenues up 32% year-on-year, and fourth quarter revenues exceeding expectations with strong adjusted operating profitability. Full-year 2019 revenues grew significantly to $2,09 billion as fourth quarter revenues reached $655,3 million, above the previous guidance range. This growth was particularly driven by ams’ consumer business including 3D sensing and advanced light sensing in the second half of 2019.

• Net sales for Microchip Technology’s third quarter of fiscal 2020 were $1,287 billion, down 6,4% from net sales of $1,375 billion in the prior year’s third fiscal quarter. Net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 was $311,1 million, or $1,20 per diluted share, up from net income of $49,2 million, or $0,20 per diluted share, in the prior year’s third fiscal quarter. Looking ahead to the next quarter, the company issued quarterly net sales guidance of up 2% to 9% sequentially, which was a wider than usual range, to reflect uncertainty related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Companies

• Silicon Labs has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement with Redpine Signals to pay $308 million in cash to acquire Redpine Signals’ Wi-Fi and Bluetooth assets, development centre in India and extensive patent portfolio. The acquisition is expected to add approximately $20 million to Silicon Labs’ revenue on an annualised basis for the 2020 financial year.

Industry


• The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced worldwide sales of semiconductors were $35,4 billion for the month of January 2020, a decrease of 0,3% from the January 2019 total of $35,5 billion and 2,2% less than the December 2019 total of $36,2 billion. Regionally, year-to-year sales increased slightly in China (5,2%) and the Americas (0,8%), but fell in Asia Pacific/All Other (-4,1%), Japan (-5,0%), and Europe (-5,6%).

• IPC announced the release of five newly revised standards covering several areas of the supply chain: IPC/WHMA-A-620D, Requirements and Acceptance for Cable and Wire Harness Assemblies; IPC-2223E, Sectional Design Standard for Flexible/Rigid-Flexible Printed Boards; IPC-2591-Version 1.1, Connected Factory Exchange (CFX); IPC-1791A, Trusted Electronic Designer, Fabricator and Assembler Requirements; and IPC- 6012E, Qualification and Performance Specification for Rigid Printed Boards.

• Annual semiconductor unit shipments, including integrated circuits and optoelectronics, sensors, and discrete (O-S-D) devices are forecast to rise 7% in 2020 and surpass one trillion units for the second time in history, based on data from IC Insights. The 7% increase to 1036 billion total semiconductor shipments expected in 2020 follows an 8% decline in 2019 and 7% growth in 2018. Starting with 32,6 billion units in 1978 and ending in 2020, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for semiconductor units is forecast to be 8,6%, an impressive annual growth rate over 42 years, given the cyclical and often volatile nature of the semiconductor industry.

• 5G and edge computing constitute a technological leap that heralds a significant transformation of business models for all industries, including manufacturing and associated Industry 4.0 verticals. The market for 5G cellular connections in manufacturing is expected to reach $10,8 billion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 187%, finds global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research.




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